The Kiss, A Valentine Story
by Nessy
Summary: Scully finds a Valentine's Card in Mulder's files...
1. The Kiss - A Valentine Story 1

Disclaimer:  
Okay, we all know the drill...We don't--- nor will we ever---  
own these two gorgeous characters. We are using them without  
permission but because we are poor little girls without any  
money, please don't sue us...we promise, we'll treat them  
with respect and when we'll give'em back, there won't be a  
scratch on 'em. Girl-scouts' honor! One more thing: The card  
we used for this story is made by Hallmark. It is only  
attached to the end, but we thought that since we got the  
idea from it, it's only fair to quote it. Dear Hallmark-guys:  
you do great work and we don't wanna make money with it, so  
please simply take this as free advertisement...smile... And  
two more things: First we took advantage of the absolutely  
fitting text of "Kiss the Girl" from the Disney movie "The  
Little Mermaid". Secondly we attached the song "Valentine" by  
Martina McBride to the end ...just to strengthen the mood.

Authors' Notes:  
Hi, my name is Nessy and I'll be your host for today! OK,  
it's time to admit it. This is our first try on fanfic so  
please: don't be too hard on us... but we do need  
encouragement, so send feedback!...smile...Cirglas and I saw  
the Hallmark card "The Kiss" in an article on a plane flight  
and simply had to write this story. It just fits so perfectly  
to our favorite characters...you will see why  
later...That's all from Nessy...Cirglas? Wanna say  
something, too?

Cirglas: We had a hell of a good time writing this story,  
although Nessy did most of the work. And that is the only  
reason why I let her attach a Martina McBride song to the end  
of this story. She just keeps getting on my nerves with that  
kind of music. Go ahead and read the story while Nessy and I  
will have a little talk...crash...boom...bang...ouch! Just  
kidding! If you enjoy the story, drop us a line and we'll  
write more. I don't want to keep you from reading our story.  
So just get started now ;)

Rating:  
First chapter: PG  
Second chapter: PG  
Third chapter:PG-13  
(I really have no idea about this stuff)

Classification:  
Well it starts out with mere UST but it will develop into a  
strong MSR for romance between Mulder & Scully in the  
following chapters...smile...so: NON-RELATIONSHIPPERS  
BEWARE!! We hope our attempt at bringing some humor into  
this story won't go unnoticed...so maybe we should add an  
H. And just in case: An A for angst.

Keywords: Mulder/Scully Romance, Valentine's Story

Summary: Scully finds a Valentine's Card in Mulder's files...see what  
happens!

Spoilers: Up to season 5: Redux II

Feel free to post wherever you like, as long as you keep our  
names and the title on it and don't change the story...you  
wouldn't do something that mean, would you? ;-)  
Next time we'll be shorter, promise! )  
Okay, here goes:

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**The Kiss - A Valentine's Story**  
by Nessy & Cirglas  
one

/Enough is enough!/

Dana Scully couldn't take it any longer. This office was a  
mess. No, this office defined "mess" in a totally new way.  
After three weeks of telling Fox Mulder to clean this place  
up, she had finally decided to do it herself.

While rolling up her sleeves her conscious mind fought a  
well-known battle, one it had fought since she had gotten in  
her car and driven here. /Just look what all your good  
education is good for...you're really doing challenging  
work here.../

/Well somebody has to clean this place  
and Mulder surely isn't gonna be the one to do it./

/Oh, great idea! Just what you always wanted to be doing on  
the day before Valentine's Day. Cleaning Mulder's office!/

/Not that I had anything else planned anyway, right?/

/Okay, okay, forget it...let's settle with: It's all  
Mulder's fault anyway. If he hadn't made such a mess down  
here.../

/Oh well, sure, fine, whatever. But, since the mess won't go  
away from thinking about it, how about really starting  
now?/

/But where to start?/

Yes, that was the 64,000 Dollar question. After turning  
around 360 degrees three or four times without finding an  
answer to that question she headed for the filing cabinet.  
Standing 2-3 feet away in front of it she took a deep and  
cleansing breath, then stretched out her left leg and, with  
the tip of her shoe, shoveled some files to the sides. Then  
she kneeled down on the newly free carpet space and looked  
around again. Sighing heavily she finally took action...

After 20 frustrating minutes of trying to bring the files in  
some kind of an order she finally got up and simply stuffed  
them into the cabinet's drawer. Her face breaking out into a  
big grin she muttered under her breath with mock annoyance:

"I've been working with Mulder waaaaayyyyyy too long. I think  
what I'm doing is called Mulder-filing." Quietly giggling she  
went over to Mulder's desk and sat down in his chair which  
was --- extremely mysteriously --free of all junk. /Must be  
an XFile, she heard Mulder's voice say. Great! Mulder was  
her conscience!

"Okay, let's leave that mess over there---" she looked back  
over her shoulder to the file cabinet---"to Mulder. Those  
cases are his obsession anyway." Smiling even more at her  
own private little joke she turned her attention on his desk.  
After throwing the remains of the sunflower seeds into the  
waste basket, setting his "Marvin the Martian" paperweight  
back up, throwing all the little "notes" away that Mulder  
always made talking on the phone---drawings of UFOs /What a  
surprise!, arrows, stars and some other things she couldn't  
decipher--, she tried to sort the remaining files. She  
stacked them all on one pile, lifted them up and... /Oh,  
what's that?/

A pink card had fallen out of the stack of files. She set the  
files back down, picked the card up instead and looked at it  
carefully. It was a Valentine's Day card still packed in the  
see-through foil, not signed and without an envelope. So it  
wasn't sent to him---he had bought it to send it to someone  
else.

/So maybe he did get a life at some point in time./ Smiling  
she remembered former discussions. Then her smile faded  
again. /So maybe he has a life./

But wouldn't he have told her? She prided herself with the  
idea that Mulder and she weren't only partners but also  
friends. But then again this card was more like a card to  
send to someone you didn't have a relationship with-yet,  
sort of like first love letter or something.

He surely wouldn't tell her if he had a crush on somebody.  
That wouldn't be like him. He usually tucked his feelings  
down deep inside of him and rarely even showed them to her.  
Sometimes he was even worse than her. /Wait a minute! What do  
you think you're doing here, anyway? This is Mulder's  
private life, not the business one. You are only a part  
of the latter and that's a good thing, remember?

Things would get a little too complicated otherwise, don't  
you think? Put the card down immediately!/ Reluctantly she  
lay the card back on the desk again, shuffling a few files  
over it to cover her curiosity and trying to forget the  
incident as fast as possible. Her hands still on the files  
the door banged open and she jumped almost 3 feet high. Her  
head jerked up and she saw Mulder's silhouette in the door.

Mulder hadn't expected Scully in the office since she had  
left work even before him today. He was surprised and maybe  
even--he had to admit it---a little delighted to see her  
there...it was always a dark room and coming down to the  
office was almost like going into your own grave.---But not  
since Scully had started working with him. She somehow made  
work seem brighter.

Now standing on the other side of his desk he noticed that  
she looked at him wide-eyed just like a deer caught in the  
headlights of a car. Then her expression turned to a mock  
angry one and she said: "God, Mulder you scared the shit out  
of me! What on earth are you doing here anyway?"

Mulder couldn't stop the smile spreading over his face.

"Missed you, too, Scully ! And I'm sorry to disturb you,  
Agent Scully, but I really thought this was Fox Mulder's  
office. But just look at this mess here!...no, no,  
impossible. It's not his." She couldn't help but smile at  
that one. /Okay now to find out what she's doing here/

"So, Scully, what brought you back down here on a Friday  
night? No date?" Closing the door behind him, Mulder wandered  
into the office. Only the desk was between them now. He saw  
the flicker of sadness cross her eyes right after his last  
remark. But then she smiled at him again and he was glad  
again that she was a very forgiving person.

/She wouldn't have to forgive anything if it weren't for  
you./

/Yeah, well, tell me that again in five minutes. Right now I  
want to just enjoy that smile. We can talk about the other  
things later./

/Oh, we will!/

He was so caught up in that smile he almost didn't notice  
when it turned to a mischievous grin. But when he noticed, he  
almost expected his oh-so-professional Scully to stick her  
tongue out at him. /What a thrilling combination/Unh  
uh, Mulder, don't go there.../

Then her eyes twinkled at him and he noticed that she was in  
her playful mode which she rarely let him see otherwise. /Oh,  
goody! This is gonna be fun!/ Scully smiled at him sweetly  
and replied: "Oh, you're in the right office, no doubt. You  
see, the master of this place had very little time in the  
last month, but I, his housemaid, have the honor of cleaning  
up after his majesty. But feel free to help a poor maiden in  
distress and...--" She waved one hand around indicating  
the whole office.

"Okay, okay. I get the message...you know, I'm really sorry  
about of the mess and I actually had planned to come here  
on Sunday to surprise you with a tidy office on Monday  
morning. Boy scout's honor."

She shoved him playfully and smiled a knowing smile. "Sure  
you did!" With this kind of smile on his face and the puppy-  
dog-look in his eyes, she just couldn't get mad at him. They  
smiled at each other silently, passing whole conversations in  
mere seconds.

After a while Scully broke the gaze, looking down at his desk  
sheepishly as if collecting her thoughts. Turning her face up  
to his and a small smile remaining on her face she said,  
"Well, if I had known what would await me on Monday, I surely  
wouldn't have skipped the date. But I guess since the  
surprise is spoiled and since I know you're not here to help  
me and I really don't want to do it alone, I'll go home and  
have a nice evening, maybe rent a movie. Bye, see ya later!"  
While moving over to her desk and chair she patted his arm  
and then she picked up her purse and trench.

"Hey, Scully! Didn't wanna throw you out. You know, I'm just  
here to get something I forgot to take with me earlier...you  
can keep on working. I promise I won't bother you!" They  
looked at each other again.

"You are a such a calculating man, Fox Mulder. I'll go home  
now and leave this mess to you...do what ever you want with  
it." She beamed at him one more time and then she was gone.  
/That smile of hers could be deadly. I might have a heart  
attack one day when she throws it at me like that./ Sighing  
he turned his head to her tidy desk on the other side of the  
room and imagined her sitting there.

/Yeah, well, got that part about the date? If she wasn't just  
referring to your joke earlier it seems like you're not the  
only one who likes her smiles./

/Well, what am I supposed to do about that, huh? Scully is  
a very lovable person./

/Oooohhh? Where did that come from?/

Pursing his lips he defended himself against his  
consciousness/Hey, I pursue the truth, remember?/

Walking around his desk he started looking for the forgotten  
item. When he found the card in a stack of files on his desk  
he read the story on it for the about 13000th time. /Good  
thing Scully didn't find this card. What would she have  
thought?/ Before he switched off the lights he let his gaze  
skim the room again. "Man, Scully's right: This place is a  
mess." Chuckling softly he left the office.

-------------------------------------------------------------

End of chapter one

Still with us? Hope we're not the only ones here...smile...  
You can think of this as a potty break, since there are no  
commercial intermissions...;-)


	2. The Kiss 2

Okay, here we go:

Chapter two

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Scully breathed out a contented sigh as she settled down onto  
her white and blue striped couch. She was now clad in  
comfortable jeans and a sweat shirt. /Hot chocolate, a good  
movie and some time for myself...a perfect evening.../  
She had really enjoyed leaving Mulder behind in their messed-  
up office. Even though the guilt was nagging at her now she  
thought that once in five years she was allowed to do  
something like that. Not that he would stay there and clean  
up anyway...

Also, he had gotten that card for somebody and although she  
really didn't want to know who, she wondered how this person  
had captured his heart.

/Well, I hope she knows what she's getting into. He sure  
isn't easy to cope with./

/Oh, he's okay. You just have to get used to him./

/Oh?/

/Yeah./

/Somebody else is getting used to him. What now?/

/Now...I want to forget about it./

/Well, good luck!/

She shifted into an even more comfortable position and took  
another sip of her hot cocoa. /Ahhh, just great! I just want  
to forget about Mulder's private life-well... if I were in  
it --/

Suddenly interrupting the train of nice thoughts was an  
annoying loud knocking on her door. /Who the hell could that  
possibly be?/

Refusing to get to her feet just now she called out to the  
intruder: "Who is it?" /And it better be someone good.../

"Scully? It's me!" She'd gotten her answer. Someone good  
indeed/Mulder. Who else?...no one else./

"Okay, I'm coming! Hold on a sec!" Reluctantly she set the  
mug down on the coffee table, pried the blankets away and  
headed for the door.

She opened the door with a half amused, half curious look and  
was well aware of the fact that Mulder's first sight of her  
would be of a Scully with raised eyebrows. /Maybe that'll  
show him I want to know what he wants fast so maybe I can get  
rid of him soon again./

But when she took in his sight---the tousled hair, the sweaty  
shirt, the slumped form as he leaned against her door frame--  
she had to smile. /Quite a little far from home for a jog,  
don't you think, young man?/

He smiled his lazy, lopsided grin at her and looked  
sheepishly away from her gaze to the ground.

"Do you think you could give a glass of water to a poor and  
tired beggar? I'd be grateful forever."

"Sure. Come on in." The friendliness in her voice surprised  
even her.

/I thought you wanted to get rid of him?/

/Well, a few minutes won't kill me.../

/What if he wants to stay longer?/

/Then he'll stay! Satisfied?/

/Yup!/

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything?" He'd said it with a  
question to it. A hesitant Mulder?... interesting!

"No, no. I was just sort of enjoying some quiet time. But I'm  
glad your here. It was kind of boring."

/Ah, and where did that come from?/

/Well, I want him to know he's welcome./

/Oh. And why?/

/SHUT UP! That's definitely my business!/

/Okay/

And surprisingly enough that was the last she heard of the  
voice that evening.

Of course they didn't stop at a glass of water. They settled  
with having dinner in front of the TV, watching the rented  
movie together.

When the credits rolled they were already busy with coming up  
with something new to do. The most interesting --and safest--  
idea seemed to be watching television. So Mulder who was  
closer to the remote started flipping through the channels.

As luck had it, there was a special on alien abductees which  
Mulder of course wanted to watch. "Oh, no, you won't, Mulder!  
Thanks to you, I have to deal with those wackos over 70 hours  
a week and I sure don't want them to occupy my life any more  
than they do already."

"Oh, come on, Scully, I wanted to watch it. I had just  
forgotten about it. So now I can watch it here. Good thing I  
didn't miss it."

"Well, too bad you came over, because this is my TV and I  
want to watch something else."

"Well, then I guess, you'll have to get the remote back  
from me---"

He didn't have time to complete his sentence because Scully  
was already grabbing for the remote. She was balancing on her  
knees on the couch facing him and reaching for it. He yanked  
his arm up just in time so she couldn't quite reach the  
object in discussion.

She was short. She knew it. But she wouldn't give in. Not to  
him. "Give...it ... back... to ...me... NOW!" She  
punctuated each word with the effort to reach the remote. By  
now she was leaning on his shoulder with one hand, reaching  
up with the other and kind of bouncing up and down to get to  
his right hand.

Because he was leaning back so far and Scully was bouncing  
and pushing him so much, Mulder lost his footage---um, knee-  
age---they both fell back, she on top of him. He tried to  
stretch his arm even further away. He wasn't about to let her  
win. Now they were really wrestling because of the piece of  
plastic.

"Hey, Scully...I think...you have to grow ... a little  
more ... if you wanna beat me..." Mulder got out between  
chuckling.

"Oh, yeah? ...See this?" Scully answered and pulled herself  
along Mulder's body so her face was almost on the same height  
as his and now she was covering most of his body. All the  
while she tried to get to the remote control again. /Ahh,  
getting closer!.../

Mulder was so surprised to feel her like that, that the  
remote fell out of his numb fingers all together and it hit  
the floor with a loud "thump".

Scully looked at him with her right eyebrow raised as if to  
say /all your fault/ and he answered her with his best  
wounded-puppy look. A smile crept in to both faces and Mulder  
joked, "Who has to get up and get it?"

They looked at each other and had to laugh at their childish  
behavior. It was nice to just play around with the other.  
Noticing their position Mulder laughed even louder and said,  
"Oh man, Frohike would have loved being in my situation."

Scully stopped giggling at once and stared, frowned, then  
glared at him and finally pulled away. Mulder recognized his  
mistake and wanted to apologize when suddenly the telephone  
rung. Scully sighing loudly got up and picked up her phone.

"Scully."

"Well, hello, lovely Agent Scully, I was wondering if you'd  
make it to our little date anyway."

Could it be worse? No one else but Frohike. Talk of the  
devil! "Um, sorry ... no, I won't make it to our date. I'm  
kind of busy with work here, so I guess we'll have to  
postpone it."

Mulder was snickering back there on her couch. /Oh, oh! He's  
listening...don't say anything you're gonna be sorry about./  
Then he looked at her expectantly. He wanted to know who it  
was. But for his remark just a few moments ago he deserved to  
be fooled. An idea started to form in her head as she thought  
about ways how to make him squirm. He would not find out that  
her date had only been with Frohike.

He mouthed: 'Who is it?'

She shook her head as Frohike continued to talk on the other  
side of the phone line and mouthed 'shh!' back. Scully  
noticed Frohike had said something and that she hadn't  
listened to a word. "Sorry, what did you just say?" Scully  
asked.

"I asked if you knew when you had time again. What's  
distracting you?"

"Distracting? Me? Nothing."

Mulder chuckled and then said quietly mocking hurt feelings:  
"So that's what I am to you now? Nothing?"

Scully sent him a glare that would have killed a lesser man.

"Who was that? Who's there?" Frohike sounded concerned.

"Who said what? Nobody's here." Scully was getting annoyed.

She needed to get rid of Frohike! Fast! Mulder chuckled even  
louder and said teasing her "Oh, now I'm a nobody? Scully,  
I'm really hurt."

"Was that Mulder? Is he over at your place?" Scully could  
tell that Frohike felt betrayed---and, come to think of it,  
it was the truth.

"I'm sorry, I really can't talk now. I'll call you some other  
time, okay? Bye." Scully hung up before Frohike had even had  
the chance to reply. Now Mulder was really interested. "Who  
was that? Someone I know?"

"No, Mulder you don't know him." Scully wanted to change the  
subject, her gaze settling on the TV she said: "Mulder, would  
you please change that channel. I'm really tired of hearing  
those abduction stories."

When she looked back at him, she noticed Mulder suddenly  
looked really down. He was biting on his lower lip; so deep  
in thought he even did what she had told him to: He got up  
from the couch, picked up the remote and turned the TV off.  
"Was that the date you canceled?" He asked frowning down at  
her carpet.

"Yes." She said truthfully.

She had to giggle at his drawn-together eyebrows and the pout  
his mouth showed. He was so depressed. As she laughed he  
turned his gaze to her and asked still frowning: "What's so  
funny?" Scully new she had to tell him the truth. She wasn't  
able to let him sulk, she felt too sorry for him. She smiled  
and then took a deep cleansing breath and spoke to him with a  
big and open smile on her face.

"Your face Mulder, your face. You know, it was only Frohike  
who invited me to have dinner with him. He wanted to go today  
because he thought I was a desirable woman and would be busy  
tomorrow on Valentine's day. I really didn't want to go so I  
told him I had to work till late. I didn't say I just wanted  
to clean the office. Don't tell me you're jealous of  
Frohike?"

The relief visible in his face made her giggle a little more.  
She could read him like a book. He was soooo cute! Like a  
little boy who was told that Santa would find him even if he  
was on vacation somewhere. Stuffing that 'cute-thought' in  
the most far-away corner of her mind she asked:

"Now that we solved the TV problem, what shall we do?"

"Dunno. Any ideas?"

"Um...let's play 20 Questions. I start asking."

"Sure. Shoot."

"Never say that to an armed woman." Both settled comfortably  
back onto the couch. "Okay, here we go. What do you think is  
the worst thing about our job?"

"Definitely the hospital stays." Mulder hadn't even needed  
one second to think.

"What?" Scully was thrown off.

"Is that the next question?", Mulder asked.

"No. Forget it. Uh, what's the best about the hospital stay?"

"That you always get me out early." That made Scully smile.

"And what's good about that?" Scully was having fun.

"That you come by and are my Mulder-sitter and pamper me  
because you are worried about me."

"Usually it's justified.", she said under her breath.

"Huh?"

"Oh, never mind."

"OK."

"What's the best thing about your job?"

"You are my partner." He said it dead serious. As if there  
was nothing strange about it. That made her feel proud. That  
made her feel great. He noticed her blushing and smiled. He  
was really being sweet today.

"Why's that so good?"

"That's not easy to answer. Can I pass on that one?"

"Okay, but you have to tell me why it's hard to answer."

"Because there are several reasons."

"Oh, okay. Which was your favorite case up until now?"

"Oh, come on, Scully, ask me something easier."

"Answer!"

"I don't know. I can't think of a whole case as my favorite.  
Maybe specific incidents."

"List some."

"Of course, the first time you came into my office." She  
smiled and motioned him to continue. "And when you came to  
visit me on my stake out in front of Toom's house." /If  
there's an ice tea in that bag, could be love/ It was unsaid  
but not unheard. "And one of my happiest days was when I  
heard that your cancer went into remission."

A long pause.

"Those are three. No more?", Scully asked.

"Each time afterwards, when I know you're safe."

An even longer pause.

He looked straight into her eyes. She saw sincerity shining  
in his. She looked away and cleared her throat to ask her  
next question. She needed a safer subject. Quick.

"What did you want to be when you grew up?"

"I already told you once: an astronaut."

"Oh, yeah right, I remember. The NASA case."

"And you?"

"Hey, I'm asking the questions right now."

"Oops, sorry." He said with a smile. He wasn't sorry at all.

"Come on, hurry, Scully. I want my turn."

"Favorite color?"

"Red."

"Mulder...you're color-blind."

"That's why. The red traffic lights don't bother me.", he  
joked.

Good, he was lightening the mood. "Favorite number?"

"Seven"

"Favorite toy?"

"Scully, I'm shocked!"

"Mulder, for heaven's sake! Not grown-up toys! Kids' toys."

"Does the basket ball count?"

"No" she let out an irritated sigh.

"Too bad. My fish?"

"Mulder, the last one died three months ago."

"Really? You didn't feed them?"

"Mulder..." It was a warning.

"Hey, I'm thinking, okay? Rubber Ducky?"

"..."

"Huh?"

"Forget it ..."

"Okay. Ask a different question."

"Gladly."

"Well?"

"Why do you let my mom call you Fox?"

"Uh... do I have to answer?"

"Yep!" Her smug face made him feel even more uncomfortable.

"I just don't want to argue with her about it." Scully had to  
laugh. "Yeah, I can understand that." "How many questions do  
we still have?"

"Seven"

"Oh, no! Come on, hurry!"

"Did you have pets when you were a girl?"

"Yeah, We had a dog once but he ran away. And then we had to  
move so we never found him again."

"Sorry."

"That's okay. Go on."

"Where was I?"

"At question number ten."

"Okay. What did you want to be when you were a grown-up?"

"A doctor."

"Figures. What's your favorite flower?"

"Hm... don't know? Red roses?"

"You're easy."

"I'm just not as complicated as you are. That's a  
difference."

"Oh, yeah?" He smiled. He wasn't really hurt.

"Yeah. Next question." She smiled, too.

"What did you think before you came into my office on the  
very first case the very first time?"

"Well," could she confide in him? Of course she couldn't tell him how mad she  
was at her bosses for partnering her with 'Spooky  
Mulder'./Let's try, but weaken the truth./

"I wondered what you did to make them send me down into your  
dungeon to look after you. I wondered how you thought and how  
you worked."

"And after we talked?"

Oh, oh. Another no-no. She couldn't possibly tell him how  
sexy she had thought he was. Um..."I wondered how you ever  
made it into the bureau with your alien religion." /But I  
guess looks can compensate for faults. He really looks sexy  
in those glasses of his./

"You see, Scully, I didn't let them know until it was too  
late." They had fun teasing and laughing together.

"Which mutant did you hate the most?"

"The one that ate my dog."

"I'm sorry about that, you know that, right?"

"Is that the next question?"

"Yes."

"Yes, I know."

A pause with a lot of staring into the other's eyes.

"Which is your favorite mutant?" Mulder recovered first.

"Phoebe Green"

"Phoebe? Mutant?" He chuckled although he was puzzled she  
would pick Phoebe out of all but he admitted, "Well, maybe  
you could say that she's a monster." They both laughed. "Why  
is she your favorite?"

"Because I knew I'd beat her if she ever became really  
dangerous."

"Oh, you'd beat her in any aspect."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Hey, wait a minute, your not supposed to ask  
questions."

"Sorry. Then you ask."

"What was the worst thing in your youth?"

"Moving from one place to the other."

"What's your original hair color?"

"Some mysteries are not for you to investigate."

"Why?"

"Every woman has her secrets. Didn't you know that?"

"And you won't tell me yours?"

"No. And that was your last question."

"It was not!"

"Yes it was. Should I count them for you again?"

"OK, OK. But I still have one more question I want to have  
answered. Will you give one more?"

"That was one already." She teased him. "Sure."

He moved a little closer to her and looked deep into her  
eyes. She raised her right eyebrow and turned all her  
attention to him.

"Okay. I know I asked you this question before but it's  
important to me that you answer it truthfully."

She didn't like how serious this had turned. She tried to  
lighten the mood with a joke: "That's my partner. Always in  
search for the truth."

He gave her a small smile and asked his question: "Would you  
change the last five years?"

Suddenly she realized. She saw it in his fearful eyes. He was  
afraid she blamed him for everything that had happened to  
them. He sometimes had those periods of self-blame. /Oh,  
Mulder.../

She gathered her thoughts. "Mulder, there are some things  
that happened that I'm not happy about, to say the least", he  
nodded in understanding, "but I'd never go back and change  
being partnered with you. We both lost a lot over the last  
few years and while I regret letting some things pass by,  
I'll never regret working with you. And--", her voice rose  
with conviction while she grabbed his collar and stared at  
him, "Fox Mulder, don't you ever think it was all your  
fault! It's not and I want you to know it. Am I making my  
self clear?"

"Yes, you are." He smiled a small tentative smile at her.  
Good. She had read his intentions for questioning her  
correctly.

They each looked at the other and smiled. That was when  
Scully had an idea how to get their thoughts away from the  
subject.

"What about your sunflower seeds? Bring them?" "Yeah, sure.  
Why?"

She curled her finger in a way to show him that he was  
supposed to come closer. He obeyed.

"We'll take them as currency for our games", she whispered  
conspiratorially into his ear, "because you need something to  
pay me with when I win."

"And just what makes you so sure that you'll win? You're  
gonna cheat on me?", he said with a big grin on his face.  
This was going to be fun.

She smiled her patented enigmatic little Scullysmile at him  
and simply said: "You just wait. You'll see."

He saw it, that's for sure. Not only in the office was she a  
challenge but also in every board and card game he had ever  
known in his whole life.

When he had lost almost all his sunflower seeds, he thought  
they finally would stop playing card games. He had had enough  
of it. When he revealed that idea to her she only laughed and  
told him matter-offactly: "Oh, Mulder, and I thought you'd  
want to play strip poker with me."

He could only croak out the two words: "Strip Poker?"

He always had thought he was the one making that kind of  
sexual innuendoes. She usually was the controlled, reserved  
one. She was certainly good at ignoring those remarks when he  
threw them at her. But once again he had proof that she was  
always good for a surprise. "Uh ... sure, Scully. Why not."

Scully smiled triumphantly at him and started shuffling the  
cards. She dealt them and they played. The funny thing was,  
Mulder started winning, so she lost first her earrings, then  
her socks and finally her sweatshirt--which left her in a  
body hugging T-shirt and Mulder was staring at it. Though she  
lost, she didn't feel quite as mad as she could have --  
because of his staring, of course.

After 20 minutes she was tired of the game, though. She  
couldn't afford to lose more clothes.

"Mulder, why are you winning now?"

"Oh, Scully, because I let you win before and I'm tired of  
losing." Well, his losing hadn't been voluntarily, but not he  
had so much more to fight for. And actually, he was simply  
having more fun winning now than he would have had before.  
Scully stared at him and tried to read his thoughts.

No such luck. "Hmpf. Well I don't want to play anymore. Let's  
do something else."

"Spoil-Sport." He chuckled but decided not to push it any  
further. "Sure, Scully, whatever you want. How about talking  
a little?" Since they both thought it a safe occupation they  
decided to do just that. Soon they were laughing again over  
cup of hot cocoa at memories of old cases and childhood  
memories.

It was nice for each of them to see a different side of the  
other; so the comfortable feeling of happiness settled over  
them. After a while they talked less and less and watched and  
smiled at each other more and more. Their gazes met and held  
the other, passing soothing words of friendship and ...  
something else between them.

By now it was already past midnight and both were starting to  
get tired. The yawns hidden behind the hands had increased in  
the last half hour and so they both decided it was time for  
Mulder to go. None of them wanted the night to end.

"I guess it's time to take you home, Mulder." "Yeah, well, I  
could call a cab, you know."

"Oh, nonsense. I'm not that tired. Just let me get my  
jacket."

While she pulled on her leather jacket and went in search for  
her keys he packed the cards away and threw the shells of the  
sunflower seeds away. They had both snacked a lot. They were  
both ready at about the same time.

"Okay, Mulder, let's go."

The drive back was quiet and both were lost in their own  
thoughts. The lights whizzed by and the ride was over way too  
soon.

On his door step he swiveled around and hugged her fiercely.  
He said: "Thanks for the evening, Scully, I really enjoyed  
myself."

Thrown by his actions she could only reply, "Anytime, Mulder,  
I had fun, too."

When he finally let go of her he smiled sheepishly at her  
shocked face. "Well, I guess I'll see you on Monday, right?"

Scully knew this was his way of saying "I'm sorry for my  
emotional outburst," so she smiled at him sweetly, patted his  
upper arm and said, "Yes, you will." Mulder, on the other  
hand, now knew that she wasn't mad at him, so he grinned at  
her while she turned around and headed out the building  
towards her car.

As she unlocked her car door she felt observed, so she looked  
around without seeing anybody. Then her gaze somehow wandered  
up to the windows of Mulder's apartment. And sure enough--  
there he was looking at her. Her stomach made a few  
somersaults and then she waved at him before she got into her  
car. And, waddaya say, he waved back!

-------------------------------------------------------------

End of chapter two.  
Didya enjoy it till now?


	3. The Kiss 3

Okay, here we go again.  
Have fun!

Chapter three

-------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning found Scully sleeping in late. She told  
herself it was because she had stayed up so late, but maybe  
it had something to do with the fact that she hadn't had any  
nightmares that night. She slept peacefully without tossing,  
turning, sweating or crying. Scully was awakened by the  
sunshine coming through her window. She stirred, stretched  
and yawned and then finally opened one eye to look over to  
the clock. It showed 10:07.

She jumped out of bed because of the shock of sleeping in so  
late. She pulled on her white terry cloth bathrobe and  
proceeded with her morning routine.

She had donned blue jeans and a simple tank T-shirt and  
padded, hair in ponytail, over to her door on socks. She had  
opened the door only a crack when she heard something making  
a soft noise that sounded like "flop".

She opened the door a little wider and saw what had caused  
the strange sound. She smiled. On the threshold before her  
lay a dark red envelope attached to a very red rose.

/Hmmm... who could that be from? Did I miss something?/

/Oh, great/ that other voice was back. /Good morning!/.

/I have no idea./

/Well, then open the card./

/Okay./ She kneeled down and picked the rose up and smelled  
it. It had a sweet scent to it and the velvet pedals tickled  
her nose.

/Come on, hurry.../

/Hey, I want to enjoy this./

/Enjoy faster!/

She chuckled. Her conscience really sounded more and more  
like Mulder. Scully undid the bow that was tying the card and  
rose together and opened the envelope. She carefully pulled  
the card out, unfolded it and read it. Twice. Three times to  
be honest.

She couldn't believe it! This was the very same  
card she had found between Mulder's files the day before!

Could It be the exact same one? Or was it just another one?  
The card wasn't signed after all. But that would be quite a  
coincidence, right? She turned it around and around in her  
hands as if she could determine its origin by simply feeling  
it. Funny, her "other voice" didn't have anything to say  
about it.

/Oh, I'm still here. But I'm letting you decide what to do  
now./

/Thanks for your help./

/Quite welcome./

She didn't have a clue what she was going to do. /Is this  
from Mulder or just a coincidence?/

/I thought you were suspicious enough not to believe in  
coincidence any more? Anyway: He has the key to the  
building.../

/I hope it's from him. But is it possible that he has those  
kind of feelings for me? Does he want to change our  
relationship to something more?/

The other voice only answered with /Seems like it/.

"Yes." Then Scully looked up to see her neighbor Mrs.  
Wellings smile down at her. She hadn't even noticed that she  
wasn't alone and that she had spoken aloud.

Mulder was really distracting her with his card. God, that  
sounded good: A Valentine's Day card from Mulder. It made her  
shiver in anticipation of Monday. Hey! Why wait until Monday?  
She returned the smile to her neighbor and scrambled to her  
feet with card and rose in hand and headed back into her  
apartment.

If she'd heard Mrs. Wellings' comment she would've blushed.  
"Ahhh, Those young lovebirds. ---Aren't they cute?"

Mulder was lying on his couch/bed staring up to the ceiling  
thinking about what in hell had possessed him to put that  
card in front of her door.

/Guess you were still a little out of it because of  
yesterday, huh?/

/Well yesterday was great but I'd wanted to tell her  
before--/

/What? That you'd like to get in her pants? She'd just love  
that idea./

/I don't just want to get into her pants. She...I...I  
think... I might ...I'm not quite sure but it feels pretty  
close to being in love./

/You mean something like: I want to spend the rest of my life  
with you?/

/Well, I don't want to think that far ahead since I haven't  
heard what she has to say about it. But: Yes./

/Well, you'll never know, buddy, 'cause you DIDN'T SIGN THE  
CARD!!/

/Hey, no yelling at me in my head! I couldn't sign the  
card. What if she doesn't feel for me what I feel for her?/  
/So how will you find out?/

/If she cares for me she'll know./

/My, you're confident!/

/When it comes to my Scully, yes I am./ He was brought out of  
this "conversation" when the phone rang loudly echoing in his  
silent apartment. "Mulder"

A pause. Then: "Mulder, it's me."

"Hey, Scully, what's up? Did I forget anything at your place?  
Because I'm fairly sure I came back with both the sweat pants  
and the T-shirt." He heard her chuckling on the other side  
of the line.

"No, Mulder, you didn't forget anything. The reason I'm  
calling is that I wanted to know if you wanted to come over  
tonight again for some non-microwave food?"

"Scully, are you asking me out on a date? And you want to  
spoil me with real food? Are you going to cook?"

"Well, I intended to." She didn't say which question she was  
referring to, so he didn't know how to answer. But she  
continued.

"That is of course if you don't have a date today." He heard  
the mischief in her voice and couldn't reply. How to answer?  
'No I don't have a date on Valentine's Day?' Not a good  
impression for her to get. 'Yes I have a date?' Then he would  
have to spend the whole evening alone in this apartment. Ahh,  
how about this one: "Well, Scully, if you don't have anything  
better to do, I don't either."

"Okay, but don't complain about my cookin'!"

"Feed me, Dana, and I will swallow." They both laughed and  
hung up the phones.

He'd been in front of her door for five minutes now lifting  
his arm up again and again but he just couldn't bring himself  
to ring the door bell. /Are you scared of a woman, G-man?/

/No, but...and anyway she is a fully trained FBI agent...-/

Suddenly the door opened, Scully smiled her radiating  
'Welcome-back-from-your-coma'-smile at him and asked: "Are  
you just doing arm exercises or are you afraid I'd kill you  
if you really knocked on my door?"

Mulder didn't know how to answer so he simply shrugged and  
smiled sheepishly at her.

She grinned at him -- proud that she had caught him, no doubt  
-- and stepped back so he could enter her apartment.

A few steps in he heard her close the door behind him. He  
started to turn around and finally ask her why -- of all men  
she could have had to come have dinner with her -- she had  
invited him.

But when he saw her, his breath caught in his throat. He  
closed his mouth and tried to swallow the lump but didn't  
quite succeed. He hadn't really looked at her 'til now, he  
had been way to surprised by the opening of the door. He  
kicked himself for not paying more attention. She was  
absolutely gorgeous.

Scully wore a dark green velvet dress that didn't quite reach  
her knees and hugged her frame but still left a lot to the  
imagination...and his was in overdrive right now... She wore  
her cross necklace and it came temptingly close to her lowcut  
neckline. She had pulled her hair up into something that  
looked to him like some kind of twist or roll or something...

She wore a tad more make-up and shoes with slightly higher  
heels than he was used to but she still looked natural...and  
beautiful. And the way she looked up at him with those sea-  
blue eyes from under those long dark lashes...smiling a  
small seductive smile... he thought he could die happy now.

What he thought most peculiar though was that she didn't seem  
to mind him staring--and he was staring, all right!

"Hi" was all Mulder finally got out.

"Hi, yourself." She said and her smile grew a little wider.

Nope, she didn't mind him staring at all.

"Um...I hope I'm not too late..."

"Oh, no, you're perfectly on time. Dinner's just about  
ready."

"Great," Mulder said, although his appetite for food was  
replaced by a completely different kind of hunger... She  
turned towards the kitchen and he watched as her dress swayed  
back and forth around her slim hips while she walked. Man,  
this was going to be a loooooonng evening!

They finished the meal quietly--although he had commented  
on that she had served ice tea to the meal which was answered  
by a typical enigmatic smile--and then they settled down on  
the couch. He thought about how he had sat there only 24  
hours before but how completely different it felt this time.  
They were both silently relaxing next to each other in the  
aftermath of a good meal.

Mulder was glad. That gave him the chance to study her one  
more time. Not that he had ever looked at anything else this  
evening. But he didn't seem to ever get enough of her.

She looked so peaceful and happy, leaned back against the  
couch, eyes closed with a soft smile on her pink candy mouth,  
hands relaxed at her sides. Her delicate neck was bared to  
him and he felt the urge to smooth his hands over the creamy  
skin. He resisted. But to do that he had to pull his gaze  
away from her.

He was looking out the window to the starry bright sky.  
Thinking about how he liked Scully's eyes sparkling like  
that. He felt a soft warm hand touch his forearm and turned  
his head once more. Now Scully was looking him directly into  
his eyes. Matter of fact, those blue orbs were boring into  
him. She seemed to be looking for something in his eyes and  
she was searching thoroughly. /Thoroughly. Yep, that's my  
little Scully/. He felt like a bug under her microscope and  
felt the need to squirm but he didn't want to move 'cause he  
didn't want to break the spell.

Finally she had found what she was looking for and gave him  
one of her rare toothy smiles. That's when something occurred  
to him: What if she somehow really had known that the card  
had been from him? But how could she had known? She'd acted  
tonight as if she'd known his feelings for her but how was  
that possible?

Scully told him in soft but firm words, "Mulder, I know that  
the card came from you. And I wanted to thank you for it. It  
was very thoughtful and sweet of you to send it to me.  
Thanks."

He stared at her in amazement. Had she just said that she  
knew? Was she psychic? She knew the card was from him? He  
didn't even try to deny it. "How?" Was what he asked. He was  
way too afraid of the other questions in his head. /How will  
she react? What will she say? How will she kill you?.../

"I found the card on your desk yesterday when I tried to  
clean up the office. But anyway--" she continued before he  
could say anything "--I don't have any other person in my  
life, Mulder. No one would send me such a sweet card. I know  
Frohike's taste--" she chuckled "--and that wasn't it. You  
see, I would have known anyway."

He chuckled, too. "I hoped you would know." He was relived  
that she wasn't mad at him. That only left two remaining  
possibilities: She would either give him the Let's-be-  
friends-talk or she would tell him that she loved him, too.

That meant that either way she at least cared for him. In  
what kind of way-that was still for him to find out. But she  
amazed him again, his Scully. She stayed silent.

He cleared his throat and smiled an tentative smile at her.  
He wanted to tell her how he felt that he loved her more than  
life but he simply couldn't think of any words that would  
even begin to describe his feelings for her. The only thing  
he could think of was how badly he wanted to kiss her.

That was until he heard the music coming from the  
stereo. He recognized the song from a Disney Movie  
/DISNEY?!/ and wondered when she had had the time to turn it  
on. Scully had again rested her head comfortably on the back  
of the couch and closed her eyes. He copied her. But after a  
few seconds he heard the words flowing through the room:

There you see her  
Sitting there across the way

She doesn't got a lot to say  
But there's something about her.  
And you don't know why

But you're dying to try  
You wanna kiss the girl.  
Yes, you want her  
Look at her, you know you do  
Possible she wants you, too  
There is one way to ask her.

It don't take a word  
Not a single word  
Go on and kiss the girl

Sha la la la la la, my oh my  
Look like the boy too shy  
Ain't gonna kiss the girl

Sha la la la la la, ain't that sad  
Ain't it a shame, too bad  
He gonna miss the girl.

He turned his head to look at 'the girl'. "Scully, are you  
coming on to me?" But without opening her eyes she merely  
smiled at him.

So he carefully shifted his body nearer to hers and moved a  
hand to trace her cheek bone. Her eyes fluttered open in  
reaction and she watched him with undisguised affection. He  
knew that his action was more than welcome. He scooted even  
closer and took her face in both of his hands.

He couldn't believe he was so close to kissing her, his  
partner and best friend and his secret love and ... and ...  
maybe soon something more... hopefully soon something more.  
Ohhh, he loved her sooooo much in that moment. But he knew  
she was waiting for him to say something. So he raked his  
mind to find something suitable.

She beat him to it: "Mulder..."

"I want you to call me Fox" It hadn't been what he had  
intended to say, but is was the truth. And he saw her eyes  
widen in response. He knew he'd said the right thing.

They looked at each other for what seemed like forever and Scully  
said: "Fox..." urging him to do something.

That husky voice raw with emotion whispering his first name  
was all the encouragement Mulder had needed. He only took  
enough time to marvel at the fact that his name sounded so  
much better on her lips. He didn't know why he had rejected  
this kind of familiarity before. Well, actually he knew all  
too well: His name said so softly by the love of his life  
held now, as it had then, a vvveeeerrrrryyy sexy sound to it.  
Waaayyy too dangerous that night so early in their  
partnership.

He leaned closer to her and their breathes mixed. They still  
held their gazes although with this closeness the vision was  
blurred. Then her eyes darkened just before he brushed his  
lips over hers and they both moaned at the first contact.

Mulder could even have sworn that Scully had whimpered his  
name again. They moved their lips softly, slowly against each  
other, tasting the other for the first of many times.

It felt so damn right and Mulder wasn't sure he could ever  
let her go again. He sure didn't want to! Although he surely  
wanted more from her than only a chaste kiss, he at first  
simply relinquished in the feel of her hot and so very soft  
lips upon his own.

But soon the kiss became more. Much more. More passionately,  
hungrier. Lips started grinding and hands started roaming.  
When he smoothed his hands down her neck and sides she  
encircled his neck with her arms and held him tightly to her  
as she deepened the kiss. So when they finally parted their  
breaths came in gasps and they were shaking with need.

He just had to stare at her. She was so incredible! He loved  
her so much. And she loved him, too! When he had evened his  
breathing a little, Mulder tugged on her dress and she came  
willingly into his embrace.

She laid her cheek against his chest and he buried his face  
in her hair. He breathed in the sunny and clean scent that he  
long since new was Scully's. He held her tightly for a few  
seconds and then whispered huskily into her ear:

"That was one hell of a first kiss. Happy Valentine's Day,  
Scully! I'll be yours if you'll be mine." He pulled away a  
little so he could look at her and punctuating his joking  
voice he kissed the tip of her nose.

Chuckling they held each other tight again and sighed  
contentedly relaxing into the other, for once forgetting  
about their fears and nightmares and instead thinking about  
how lucky they were to have the other.

Scully cut through his thoughts asking: "Well, my dear secret  
admirer, are we going to pretend that we're young and stay on  
the couch or are you finally going to take me to the  
bedroom?" She asked not without humor in her voice.

He didn't answer but kissed her and slipped his arms under  
her and lifted her up into his arms. While he carried her  
through the apartment to her bedroom he said:

"Not that we're too old but to be honest, I hope I'll never  
have to sleep on a couch again."

She saw the love in his eyes and smiled at him needy. "If you  
don't take me to bed now I don't know if I'll let you live  
long enough to ever see another couch again."

He answered that remark with a soundly passionate kiss.

Scully moved her lips against his and said against his mouth,  
"Oh, yeah, Mulder, happy Valentine's Day to you, too." and  
they stepped into a better life that for them was "just  
right".

-------------------------------------------------------------

The Kiss (Hallmark Card)

Once upon a time there was a kiss that hadn't happened yet.  
Two people wanted the kiss to happen to them. And they wanted  
it to be "just right".

The kiss didn't worry about "just right". The kiss simply  
wanted to exist, to be the first of many such moments between  
two people who were already "just right". And when their lips  
finally met (shyly introducing themselves to each other), it  
was like two voices singing two notes that sounded better  
than either would sound alone.

There would be other kisses but the two people would always  
remember this one, the way you never forget some songs. It  
was just a kiss, just a moment, but it was "just right".  
Valentine...

(turn the page)

...Your kiss is waiting.

-------------------------------------------------------------

The End

And they lived happily ever after...;-)

Well, does the card fit the situation, or what?  
Okay, folks, that's all! Should we write some more stories or  
was it just too terrible?

Special thanx to Ank-Pack and our other friends who gave us  
some helpful ideas...and to everybody else for reading the  
whole story. Please! Feedback is always welcome --Actually,  
it is begged for and necessary--we'd die without it... ;-)

-------------------------------------------------------------

If there were no words,  
No way to speak,  
I would still hear you.  
If there were no tears,  
No way to feel inside,  
I'd still feel you.  
And even if the sun refused to shine,  
Even if romance ran out of rhyme,  
You would still have my heart until the end of time,  
'Cause all I need is you, my Valentine.  
You're all I kneed, my love, my Valentine.

----- Martina McBride


End file.
